


Juniper's Story

by JessicaMariana



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Prostitution, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-06-05 22:34:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15180821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessicaMariana/pseuds/JessicaMariana
Summary: What does the story of "The Wild Hunt" look like from someone else's perspective..?This is Juniper's story, her everyday life amidst the events of "The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt".





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story will eventually have other characters and pairings, and of course tags, and the rating may rise to explicit.  
> 

Juniper’s head pounded like never before. Her body was sore all over and her lungs and eyes stung from the settling smoke. With a groan, she slowly sat up and looked around. The surroundings were unfamiliar, and she couldn’t recall how she’d gotten there.

She raised a hand to wipe at her wet brow and winced when it burned. She discovered blood trickling down the side of her face when she inspected her hand. Her head spun and made her stomach turn when she attempted to stand up. She sat back down on the ground with a grunt. With some effort she coughed some of the smoke from her lungs.

How long had she lain there?

She looked around once more. Rubble lay scattered all over the ground; planks and whatnot had been charred black, and some bigger pieces were still smoldering.

_ A fire? No, too big of a mess for that. An explosion. _

Nothing moved in her line of sight, but she spotted a burned body laying on the other side of the road.  _ Unhelpful.  _ By her side lay a small saddlebag. It looked familiar, so she picked it up and opened it. In it she only found a small coin pouch and an almost empty bottle. She opened the bottle and sniffed at the contents. An odd fragrance, though tempting. She chanced a swig. It was strong and tickled her tongue and throat pleasantly, but tasted good and made her feel slightly better. She tried once more to get to her feet and slung the bag over her shoulder.

The road she’d been lying by disappeared around a small cluster of trees, but behind it, in the distance, she recognised the familiar city of Novigrad.

_ Strange, _ she thought,  _ so close to the city, yet no one’s bothered to come see what happened here? _

As she started investigating the site more closely she realised that her surroundings were unnaturally silent. She looked at the smoldering remains; she could feel the heat, she could see it glowing a bright yellow and orange, but it made no sound. She couldn’t hear the familiar crackling of wood. She looked up at the treetops which swayed in the wind, she could feel the light breeze on her skin, but she couldn’t hear the rustling of the leaves. I moved my mouth, speaking random words, but no sound came out. I put a hand to my chest as I continued rambling and could feel the vibrations of my voice.

It didn’t take me long to realise I’d gone deaf. Was it the explosion that had caused it? It was an unfamiliar feeling, to not hear my surroundings, so it must have been recent. I crossed my arms as I thought back as far as I could, but it was to no avail. I drew a blank. I couldn’t remember anything from more than a few minutes ago.

_ Then how come I could recognise the city on the horizon? _ I looked back in the direction of the towering structures beyond the small forest.  _ Maybe that is where I’ll find the answers. _


	2. Sigi Reuven

Juniper shot a sideways glance toward the street corner hoping someone interesting would appear. Her day had just started, yet she was ready for something fun to happen, and to her luck it seemed like the gods were listening. A well-dressed man in garish colours that shone in the morning light came walking slowly down the street; he was someone who did not belong in these parts of the city. Though his face was nothing to cheer over and he had a slight limp in one leg, he looked like the kind of man who had coin, and plenty of it. Juniper smile to herself.

“Hello there, handsome,” she called as he approached, trudging down the muddy street.

The man gave her a quick smile but didn’t stop.

Juniper sighed.  _ Fine, I won’t waste my time _ , she thought.

But just when she was about to turn away, the man stopped and faced her. Three other men, each dressed in fancy blue tunics, also stopped a few feet away from them.

_A very_ _important man to boot_ , Juniper added to herself. ... _to have bodyguards._

“Darling,” said the man with a smirk. “I couldn’t afford the pleasure.”

Juniper raised a brow.  _ Sure _ , she thought, stretching the word in her head, while smiling back at him. “I’ll make you a deal,” she tried. This man was probably worth a bit of haggling.

“Tempting.” The man chuckled as he folded his arms over his wide chest. “Do you take bookings?” he queried. “You see, it is time I can’t afford to spend at the moment. Though I’m sure you’d be worth it.”

Juniper hummed.  _ Yes _ . That was a step in the right direction. She started to like the man and found it hard to refuse the unusual request. “Surely a man like you could take an hour to enjoy himself… to relax?” She stepped closer to him and looked up into his dark eyes while making sure she stood close enough that he had a good view down her cleavage.

“I do, but unfortunately not today,” the man shrugged. “Save me an hour or two tomorrow night and I’ll make sure to enjoy myself in your lovely company.”

“Hmm, why not,” Juniper mused. She looked forward to seeing if the man was anything like she imagined him being.

The man gave her a slight bow and continued down the street, followed by his lackeys. She watched him cross the bridge over the canal and disappear into the crowd at the fish market.

One of Juniper’s colleagues rushed to her side at once and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Do you know who that was?” she asked, her eyes wide open and mouth agape, as Juniper turned to look at her. “That was Sigi Reuven - one of the Big Four!”

Juniper’s brows furrowed. That didn’t mean anything to her, thought she was sure she’d heard the title before.

“He’s one of the crime lords who controls Novigrad,” her colleague added. “Meaning he has coin, and plenty of it! You could make a fortune if you do well tomorrow.”

Realisation washed over Juniper. She smiled. Coin wasn’t very important to her - she was used to not having much - but it would be nice if she could start saving something for the future, like she had dreamt for some time now, so she could move into her own house. The rooms at Crippled Kate’s were too crowded for her comfort, but for now it was all she could afford.

 

 

“Did you hear; Juniper’s got an appointment with Sigi Reuven tonight!”

“No! I’ve heard he’s hung like a horse.”

“ _ Uroboros _ some call it.”

“Doesn’t he own that bathhouse in Gildorf? Why’d he come down here when the Passiflora is just around the corner?”

“And why Juniper of all people? I have to make myself known to him when he comes! Maybe I’ll get lucky and catch his eye too...”

“You wish!  _ I’ll _ be his next girl.”

The girls at Crippled Kate’s chatted and giggled amongst themselves as they got ready for the day. Juniper sat quietly by herself, taking deep deliberate breaths as she brushed her hair while looking down at the mucky canal running into the harbour past the front of the building. She’d never been nervous to be with a client, but then no one had ever booked her beforehand, and none had been as reputable as Sigi Reuven. It was unheard of at Kate’s. It wasn’t a place sophisticated patrons ever visited. There was a reason the establishment was located by the harbour, close to the traveling seamen, and in one of the cheapest houses on the street.

 

 

As the sun set behind the rooftops of Novigrad, the Madame came upstairs to Juniper.

“Your client asks for you,” she said with a jerk of her head towards the stairs.

Juniper nodded, following her employer downstairs. However, instead of the large man she’d met the day before, a man dressed in a blue tunic awaited her. He bowed as she approached.

“Milady,” he said. “I am Dirk, in the employment of Mister Reuven. He asks that you visit him at his establishment. I am to guide you should you accept.”

Juniper glanced over at the Madame who nodded encouragingly.

“Very well,” Juniper replied and pasted a gentle smile on her lips.

Dirk nodded and gestured for her to follow. They walked slowly down the street, crossed the canal as she’d seen them do yesterday, then cut through Hierarch Square, and arrived a few minutes later in Gildorf. They stopped outside a set of beautiful double doors, which the man knocked on. Juniper looked around in awe at the vaulted ceiling above them and the pillars supporting it that circled along the walls to the small cobblestone square outside. Torches flickered in the wind on the walls and cast a warm orange glow on the pale stone. If the entrance was this beautiful, she wondered how much better it could be inside.

One of the doors opened and a smiling bald man greeted them with a bow. Dirk exchanged a few words with him and left. The other man proceeded to show Juniper inside. The dimly lit corridor smelled of something floral, and she could spot pools with glittering water on the other side of a long wooden screen.

As Juniper looked down the corridor she noticed the smiling man waiting for her at one end, holding a door open for her.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said as she hurried to enter. They walked down another corridor to another set of double doors. The smiling man knocked and opened.

“Master Reuven awaits you,” he said.

The next room was vast.  _ Certainly Reuven’s private quarters, _ Juniper noted. The interior suggested as much. This was not a place guests of the bathhouse were allowed into.

Juniper spotted the man sitting by the fireplace at the other end of the room, his figure a big, dark silhouette against the light in front of him.

“Good evening,” Juniper greeted him.

Reuven got up from his seat and rounded it to greet her. He took her hand in his and kissed it. His lips were dry against her skin and sent a gentle shiver up her spine.

“Before we begin,” Juniper said, taking a deep breath. Often her clients were surprised by the fact that she had a disability and didn’t know how to handle it, and so chose to leave instead of trying to deal with it, so Juniper had had to start putting her cards on the table immediately when meeting someone new.  _ Just in case _ , she reminded herself. “I don’t wish to cause trouble, or make you feel uncomfortable, especially when you’ve taken the time to see me today, but could I ask you to face me when you speak?” Juniper asked as politely and calmly as she could.

Reuven looked at her for a moment before asking: “May I ask why?”

“I’m deaf.”

Reuven scratched his unevenly shaven chin. “I see. So you read lips?”

Juniper nodded. “I’ve become quite proficient at it, but it puts some people off.”

Reuven said nothing.

“I apologise. I understand if you want me to leave,” Juniper bowed her head.  _ Oh gods _ , she prayed,  _ let this man not be one of those.  _ When she looked up, Reuven was smiling.

“No,” he said. “Stay.”

Juniper couldn’t help but smile back, but doing so she forgot the most important thing: to keep her lips closed!

Reuven took a step back at the sight of the pointed teeth that lined her mouth. Juniper promptly pressed her lips tightly together, and turned and reached for the door. But Reuven caught her arm before she could get far. She spun back to see him speaking, but didn’t catch what he was saying. Her mind was racing. To make such a foolish mistake! How stupid could she get? She cursed herself as she tried squirming out of Reuven’s grip. But Reuven only held her more firmly.

“Calm,” he said, mouthing the word so clearly Juniper couldn’t mistake it.

She stilled in his grip. Reuven let go of her and gestured for her to sit down with him by the fire. She followed slowly. She sat down and put on an air of nonchalance, but her eyes roamed for any possible escape routes. Worst case scenario; she’d transform into mist and fly out the chimney.

“What are you?” Reuven asked when her eyes came back to him.

“Nothing,” Juniper replied automatically.

“What are you?” Reuven repeated. He seemed calm considering the monster sitting beside him.

Juniper sat quietly for a long while, watching the dancing flames of the fire. “I… I don’t trust you. I can’t-”

Reuven put a hand on her knee. She looked back at him. He looked like he was trying to reassure her she had nothing to fear, but she had been in Novigrad long enough to know how easily the witch hunters could arrive at someone’s doorstep to deal with something unnatural, something unholy… like a vampire.

“I can’t tell you,” Juniper insisted. “I’m sorry. I’m leaving.” And so she did. Reuven didn’t stop or follow her.

 

 

Juniper sat awake the rest of the night, hiding behind a crate in an alley, watching the dark street for any sign of witch hunters. She had never been so on edge.

_I can’t go back to Kate’s_. _They’ll find me there in an instant._ _I have to disappear_ … But she had nowhere to go.


	3. Escape

It started raining around sunrise. Juniper shivered in the small outfit she wore for work. She thought long and hard of where to hide. She couldn’t stay on the street or anywhere in public. The first thing she thought of were the sewers. Plenty of them ran through Novigrad. According to rumours some people never emerged from them, but she was a vampire - she could handle a few drowners if she had to. She remembered mention of elven ruins beneath the city, long abandoned and out of mind from most people, and good places to hide since they were hard to find. With some luck, she might find one such place. Maybe she’d go to sleep, hibernate for a while before showing her face in Novigrad again.

_ Or maybe I should leave… and go where? _

She wandered the streets for hours searching for something that might take her into the labyrinth of sewers. She eventually wound up by the shore of the Pontar between the city and Temple Isle, under St. Gregory’s Bridge. There she found a momentary seat on the edge of a high pier, sheltered from the rain. Watching the rain ruffling the water’s surface below the pier, something in her peripheral view caught her eye. A broken grate that lead into a dark tunnel swayed in the wind.

_ Seems good enough _ , she thought with a sigh as she got back on her feet.  _ Worth a look, I suppose. _

She turned back towards the river to breathe in the fresh air, wondering how long it would be until she would smell it again. She looked up at the clouds which had started to thin out. The rain decreased outside the shelter, the water returned to its gentle lapping waves, and people started coming out of houses to deal with their daily lives again. None took note of her. With another deep sigh Juniper turned to enter the sewers. She wandered aimlessly, noting each turn she took in order for her not to get lost, even though she probably could smell her way out if she tried hard enough. But something wasn’t right, the air began to suddenly sting her eyes and nose, and she had to retreat to the previous passage, coughing furiously. She saw green clouds form around the floor like morning fog on a field, and wondered what on earth it could be.

_ Maybe _ , she thought,  _ if I could get to the other side of that, I’d be left undisturbed? _

She took a deep breath and held it, then ventured deeper down the tunnel, through the toxic clouds. The clouds thinned out soon and vanished altogether. Juniper cautiously tried to breathe through her nose and smiled in triumph when it didn’t hurt. She coughed a couple of times before she could breathe freely again.

The tunnel continued deeper, but ahead she could make out a light. At that moment she wished she could hear so she’d know if it was safe to approach or not. She didn’t want to risk it. She stopped where she was.

_ Maybe this wasn’t the best hiding place after all if there are others down here. _

Suddenly the ground began to quake, as if a giant closed in on her. Juniper stood alert, looking towards the light. A massive rock troll appeared by the mouth of the tunnel.

Juniper held up her hands as it approached. It walked slowly, watching her with beady eyes as it got closer. It said something, but Juniper couldn’t tell what.

“Leave me alone,” she warned it, and the troll stopped.

It scratched its hard head and said something else.

“I can’t hear what you’re saying. I don’t understand you,” Juniper tried. She took a step back. The troll didn’t react. If need be, she would be able to flee faster than it could rush at her. She took another step away from the creature. “I’m a monster too,” she said quietly and bared her fangs and claws at it. “See? Now please, leave me alone.”

The troll gestured something with its meaty hands and trudged back towards the end of the tunnel.

Juniper sighed with relief and slumped back against the wet stone wall. She sat there for a while trying to make sense of her luck, but couldn’t decide what to do with it.

_ When it rains, it pours, _ she told herself.  _ But what the hell is a rock troll doing in the middle of Novigrad? _

The troll reappeared later, hugging a bunch of straw to its chest as it approached Juniper.

Juniper shot up on her feet, again baring her fangs at it, but the troll simply lay the hay by her feet and pointed at it.

“I don’t understand,” Juniper repeated, but let herself relax a bit.

The troll promptly sat down on the pile and patted the space next to it, making the ground tremble beneath her. Juniper sat down quietly and the troll got back up and left her alone.

_ Odd _ , Juniper thought with an involuntary smile on her lips. “Thank you,” she added quietly into the empty tunnel.

 

 

“Did you eat your hay? You’re not supposed to eat it, you dimwit, that's what you got the pork for!”

“Bart not hay eats,” the troll explained. “Bart pertylady give.”

“Come again?”

“Pertylady,” the troll named Bart repeated. “Her wet. Hay soft. Hay soft, smile pertylady.”

“Where is this pretty lady?”

“In tunnel,” Bart pointed to the broken stone wall that lead into the sewers.

 

 

Juniper had lost track of time as she sat on the hay watching the water drip down the slimy walls, and before she knew it she’d fallen asleep, curled up on the damp, itchy makeshift mattress. She dreamt of a place she didn’t recognise; a small village in the middle of nowhere. The people who spoke to one another spoke words she didn’t recognise. An old man smiled at her when he saw her watching and waved at her. She smiled back at him happily and felt a warmth bloom in her chest.

“Juniper,” a man’s voice called.

Juniper woke with a start, disoriented and oddly comfortable. She sat up and looked around. She recognised the place at once, and rushed out of the bed.

A hand on her arm stopped her. Frozen with fear, believing she had failed to notice a witch hunter lurking in the corner of the room, she said nothing and did nothing, until the hand moved to her shoulder, prompting her to turn around.

Reuven greeted her with a grave look on his face.

“Calm,” he said. “I found you, freezing cold, sleeping in the sewers beneath the bathhouse.”

“What?” Juniper wasn’t sure she wasn’t still dreaming.

“Bart,” Reuven explained. “...my troll - said he was helping a pretty, wet lady hiding in the sewers.”

“Your troll?” Juniper thought she’d misread, but then remembered the creature that had helped her without question.

“Yes. His name’s Bart.”

Juniper swallowed. What were the odds that the sewers she happened to crawl into lead to Reuven’s bathhouse?

“Thank you,” she said under her breath, looking away from the man because of the blush that crept up her cheeks. The meeting from the previous night was still fresh in her memory. “I’m sorry about last night,” she added. She looked back at Reuven to read his reply.

He released the grip on her and sat back in the chair he’d placed beside the bed. “I understand,” he said. “We all have our secrets. I won’t press you.”

Juniper frowned. That’s not what it had felt like yesterday. She was sure hunters awaited her on the other side of the doors.

“You took me by surprise,” Reuven added. “Not much surprises me.”

“I’m sorry,” Juniper repeated. She sat down on the edge of the bed, watching Reuven as he laced his fingers over his stomach. Her eyes kept darting between him and the closed doors.

“I’m not going to report you to the witch hunters,” he said, having come to the conclusion of her fear and escape the night before. He looked her in the eye. “I believe in the Free City of Novigrad. I believe everyone should be welcome here. I don’t believe in the Eternal fucking Fire or the witch hunters who oppress the citizens of Novigrad.”

Juniper couldn’t help but smile at that. If he was telling the truth, then he was a better man than she’d thought. And while looking into his dark eyes she couldn’t find a single trace of deceit in them. It made her heart swell.

“Thank you.”

Reuven leaned forward against his knees at the soft tone of her voice. A smile played at the corners of his lips and his eyes shimmered in the light of the candles and torches.

Juniper inched closer to him on the bed until their knees touched. Reuven watched her. She looked down between them before leaning forward, her eyes half closed, waiting to see if Reuven reciprocated. A short second later he leaned towards her. She closed her eyes as their lips met and she felt his breath on her cheek. When they parted, both leaned back and drew deep breaths. Juniper felt how her cheeks burned. They sat quietly for a while. Why did this stranger make her feel so unlike herself? Juniper reached up to trace her fingertips over her own lips. Maybe this was how she used to be, how she was supposed to be? She still couldn’t remember a thing of her past.

She wasn’t sure what to do next, but something told her that was enough for one night. She stood up and looked at Reuven, who got up as well. She hadn’t noticed in the light of day, but he was enormous, towering almost menacingly over her in the dimly lit room. But it didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, she felt safe beside him.

“I should go,” she said.

Reuven nodded. He followed her to the front door where he gave her a slight bow as she departed.

Juniper thought of Reuven’s words, that he wouldn’t report her to the witch hunters, and decided it might be safe enough if she returned to Kate’s. Even a shared room full of other women was better than another night on the cold, wet streets.

At her arrival back at the brothel the other girls surrounded her and immediately began talking animatedly, several asking her questions she didn’t catch due to them speaking at the same time. She caught one asking why she’d been gone for so long. Another asked if the rumours about Reuven were true - whatever that meant. Juniper didn’t want to talk about it, and before she even contemplated doing that, she would have to come up with a story good enough that she wouldn’t get any more questions. She excused herself upstairs, feigning sleeplessness, then changed out of her stiff outfit into something cleaner and went straight to bed.


	4. A second chance

A few days passed and the other girls’ interest in Juniper’s time with Reuven vanished at her lack of things to say about it. She busied herself with work so her mind wouldn’t wander too far. The kiss she’d shared with Reuven still lingered on her lips whenever she recalled the moment. It was odd; it had been like any other kiss she had shared with a client, but as soon as she recalled Reuven’s face so close to hers, her heart beat a little faster.

As Juniper finished with her latest client, the door to the room opened and the Madame stepped inside. She greeted the man courteously as he left, and then turned to Juniper as she got dressed.

“A gentleman waits for you,” the Madame said before leaving the room.

Juniper sighed. It was odd to have one client after another, but she wouldn’t say no - she had made up her mind to start saving whatever little coin she could, though now she would have to find a hiding place where no one else would lay their fingers on it. Her savings were still meagre but every crown made a difference.

She hurried to make herself decent, brushing her tousled hair with her fingers while descending to the first floor. She stopped short on the stairs when she saw Reuven sitting at one of the tables, idly watching one of the girls dancing in the corner. But the moment he spotted her, he got up and approached the stairs.

“Good evening,” he greeted her.

Juniper curtsied in response, something she chose to do when none of the other girls would. She hoped it earned her some points with her clients. “What may I do for you, sir?” she asked.

“Take me upstairs.”

Juniper smiled. Without hesitation she accepted the coin pouch he held out for her, and took him to a private room. She closed the door behind them. She was sure the others had noticed Reuven’s arrival and would soon gather outside to catch anything they could gossip about.

“I’ve been thinking about our last meeting,” Reuven said with a smile on his thick lips. He lowered his voice when he noticed Juniper repeatedly glancing back at the door. “I’d like to have you come over again. If you’d be comfortable?”

Juniper nodded at once. “I’d like that,” she replied with a breath of relief. It was all she had thought about since their last meeting. And if he was willing to give her a chance, she had thought, then she could do no less.

Reuven sat down on the bed, urging Juniper to join him, and she did. His large frame took up most of the foot end so she had to sit close enough that their arms and thighs rubbed together.

“What would you like to do now?” she asked. Her hand closest to him slowly inched out from between them, towards his leg.

Reuven took her hand in his own and kissed it.  Juniper’s breath caught in her throat. He looked at her for a moment before leaning down to kiss her on the lips. She leaned against him, feeling as if she was melting into his embrace as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She sighed into his mouth, forgetting about the one thing that had previously caused her to flee from him. Reuven hummed as his tongue grazed the points of her teeth. He leaned back and looked at her mouth as it still hung half open, her teeth barely visible behind her soft, pink lips. It would take time to get used to the thought that she could easily hurt him if she chose to, but it also made him want to kiss her all the more. He reached up and placed his thumb on her lower lip, pushing it down to see them better. He wanted to ask her again about her nature, but held his tongue. If he won her trust he believed she might tell him at a later date.

“Do you have time?” he asked instead, meeting her two-coloured gaze.

Juniper nodded.

Reuven kissed her again. And again.


	5. Promotion

Months passed as Juniper and Sigi’s relationship grew past a simple prostitute and her client to romantically involved couple. Juniper might have called it love, but she didn’t know - or more precisely, didn’t remember - what love felt like and therefore didn’t want to jump to conclusions that may strain the bond she’d formed with the man.

However enjoyable their acquaintance with one another was, the mood around the other girls at Crippled Kate’s made Juniper wish she’d finally have enough coin to get her own place. Many of them had started avoiding her, believing she hogged Sigi to herself because she wanted all his gold for her own. Others discussed the issue openly with clear dislike on their faces even though she could read their conversations without problem.

 

“That’s the third time you’ve sighed since you got here,” Sigi noted, looking at Juniper with a furrowed brow. “What’s the matter?”

Juniper scrutinized him for a long moment, weighing her options.

“If you don’t want to have sex tonight...” Sigi offered, but Juniper shook her head in response.

“It’s not that,” she explained. “It’s… the girls at Kate’s. They think I’m being selfish, not sharing you with them, meaning...”

“I know.” Now it was Sigi who sighed. “Dirk informed me about it. He heard some of them talk when he took you back the other day.”

Juniper couldn’t help but smile a little. Even though she’d often insisted that she could make the short walk to and from Sigi’s bathhouse on her own, Sigi always insisted that one of his men escort her. And so Dirk, who was a kind man in his late twenties, had been assigned the position since he was the only one of Sigi’s men who didn’t mind the silent walks with Juniper, mainly because he couldn’t speak. Juniper had therefore began using sign language with him to communicate which seemed to please the young man greatly, forming the beginnings of a friendship between the two. He explained in detail how no one ever had made the effort of understanding him like she did.

“But don’t worry, darling,” Sigi interrupted her thoughts with a smile and by wrapping one large arm around her waist. “I have a surprise for you.”

He led Juniper over to the fireplace where they sat down side by side on the couch.

Juniper watched him with bated breath. His gifts were usually little trinkets, a luxurious meal or a generous tip, but he wasn’t holding anything in his hands and she couldn’t make out any smell of food or drink.

“I had a talk with Marquise Serenity at the Passiflora the other day,” Sigi continued. “If you want, she is prepared to let you start working there.”

Juniper’s mouth hung open as she tried to come up with a response. She went through the motions of his lips a few time in her head, making sure she’d read him correctly.

“I’ll be paying for your room,” Sigi added with a smile.

“You got me into the Passiflora?” Juniper asked, still not sure she had read him right.

Sigi nodded. “I did.”

“And you’ll pay my rent?”

“I will.”

Juniper felt deflated. It was a surprise she’d never have guessed. “But why?” she asked. Why would he put so much coin and effort into keeping a prostitute who at any time could decide to break off things between them on a whim and without explanation?

“Because I care for you, and want you to have the best.”

_ Is this love? _ Juniper wondered. She suddenly jumped up on the couch on her knees and lunged at Sigi, her arms wrapped around his thick neck, kissing him over and over; his stubbled cheek, his lips, his bald temple.

“Have I told you I love you?” Juniper laughed as she continued kissing him, surprised at having let those words slip without care.

Sigi hugged her back tightly, accepting all the eager thanks she gave.

They soon lay on the couch, Juniper on top of Sigi, their kiss deepening and their breaths short in their lungs.

Sigi reached up to brush Juniper’s cascading hair from their faces. “I love you too.”


	6. A lesson in trust

Juniper knocked on the door to Sigi’s private rooms one evening. It didn’t take long for him to appear, door held ajar to see who’s disturbing him so late.

“Juniper,” he exclaimed, clearly surprised at her presence. “I didn’t expect you today.” He stepped aside to let her in. Juniper quietly made her way across the room, pausing by the fireplace. Sigi closed the door behind her and joined her shortly. He sat down on the couch, but she remained standing.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, though she wasn’t looking in his direction to pick it up.

Juniper stood silently for a moment longer before she drew a deep breath. “I wanted to thank you,” she began, her voice small, uncertain. She still wasn’t sure if she should do this. But she’d concluded that this was the best way of showing Sigi her gratitude for everything he’d done for her so far.

She turned to meet his eyes, and smiled. “You’re a remarkable man, Sigi. And I...” she hesitated, wringing her hands in front of her. Sigi had already taken note of her odd behaviour, and the distress on her face, and waited patiently for her to get to the point. “I want to trust you,” she continued. “I try to. I mean, I want to. I just...” she sighed heavily and rubbed her temples. She didn’t want to see which kind of face Sigi was making. Was he hurt that she didn’t trust him yet? “You probably don’t trust me completely, either. But I want to change that. That’s why… That’s why I want to be honest with you.” She dared a quick glance at Sigi where he still sat, watching her. His expression was neutral, lacking any hint to what he was thinking.

She sat down beside him on the couch, feeling like a part of the weight she was carrying was dissolving. She took another breath to steel herself before concluding her monologue. “I am going to tell you what I am, and in so doing show my trust in you. Because I believe that you won’t give me up to the witch hunters or temple guard.”

Sigi’s eyes met hers now, and she felt a wave of relief wash over her when she saw them crinkle due to a gentle smile on his lips. “You know I wouldn’t do that. I’ve never thought of turning you in since the moment I learned that you weren’t human. This is what’s been bothering you?”

Juniper nodded. “I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you, but I hope that this will stop me from doing so ever again... But of course that kind of depends on how you’ll take this.”

Sigi put his large hands over hers. “I love you,” he reassured her.

Juniper bit her lip, then ever so slowly spoke: “I’m a vampire. A higher vampire.” While she let the information sink in she made sure not to move a muscle. She’d let Sigi take his time to process her words without scaring him.

A moment passed. Then another.

“I confess...” Sigi broke the silence. He looked closely at Juniper with a squint. “I don’t know much about monsters, but you’re not one of them. Don’t argue with me. And I don’t see how this would make me love you less. You don’t seem any less human to me than anyone else.”

“Does this mean..?” Juniper gasped quietly.

Sigi’s hands tightened over hers as he smiled. “It means nothing between us has changed. I trust you when you say you wouldn’t hurt me. You’ve given me no reason to distrust you. And like I already told you: I’d never turn you in, so I’d like it if you could show a bit of trust in me too,” he said. He let one hand slip away from the others and gently ran it up Juniper’s thigh. “I’m a good judge of character.”

Juniper chuckled softly, following Sigi’s wandering hand with her eyes until it stopped at her waist. Soon his other hand joined the first on her other side, and pulled her up against him. She didn’t resist as he leaned down and kissed her.

“Do you trust me?” he asked once he’d pulled away.

Juniper hesitated only for a second before nodding. She reached into the pockets of her skirt and pulled out a long strip of cloth. She handed it to Sigi, who raised a questioning brow.

“Blindfold me,” Juniper breathed heavily as she rose to her knees to kiss him. “I trust you.” She reached into her pockets once more and pulled out more cloth. “Tie me up.” Another passionate kiss left them both breathless within seconds.

Sigi smiled at the three soft strips now in his hands. “You would let me tie you up?” he asked to reassure himself more than her.

Juniper swallowed harder than she’d expected. A shiver ran up her spine. “Yes.”

“Wrists to ankles, nothing more. And of course on the condition that I release you should you tell me to.” He leaned in and planted soft kisses along her jaw while she let the possibilities of what could happen if anything went awry play through her mind. She always had an escape route should the worst happen. But it might result in losing the man she loved. No. She pushed those thoughts away. She was going to prove to herself that she trusted him.

“Okay,” she said. What was life without a few risks, after all?

“Grand,” Sigi chuckled. “Now be so kind as to undress and get on your knees. On the bed, please.”

Juniper got off the couch. She slowly untied her corset and let the simply dyed fabric fall along with her skirt to the floor at her feet. The second layer, a simple white gown, followed shortly after, leaving Juniper standing in the firelight in only a pair of small bloomers and knee-high stockings.

Sigi approached her slowly, his calloused hands grasping her slender ones, then guiding her to the bed. She sat down at the foot end, and before she could make a move to do it herself, Sigi hooked his fingers in her underwear and pulled them off.

“Should I leave the stockings on?” he asked while freely letting his eyes roam over her otherwise naked body.

“Don’t. It’ll get too hot,” Juniper smiled mischievously.

“Very well.” He removed those for her as well, and then watched as she positioned herself in the middle of the bed, as she’d been asked a moment earlier.

“Alright?” Sigi asked once he was done tying her up, and held the blindfold before her.

It wasn’t too uncomfortable, Juniper thought as she tried the restraints. She would easily be able to tear the cotton in half if need be, but she had to remind herself that she wouldn’t. She nodded.  _ Alright. _

Sigi smiled. He kissed her once, a languid brush of his lips against her, before tying the last strip of cloth securely over her eyes.

Juniper, derived of hearing, sight and movement, sat there waiting for Sigi’s next move. She was at his mercy and was slightly shocked to find herself comfortable with the idea.

She felt the bed shift as he got on it behind her. His knees stroked her thighs as he scooted closer. One hand came up to her shoulder, stroking it gently as the other rested on her waist. His breath was warm on the back of her neck as he stroked her hair away over one shoulder. The feeling of Sigi’s lips on her skin which had become familiar to Juniper still managed to send a rough shudder through her body as he kissed her. His now bare chest and belly pressed against her back as his kisses grew more intense. Juniper let out a soft sigh. She could feel Sigi speak, the vibrations of his voice clear against her neck.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on,” is what he said as the hand on Juniper’s waist gently skimmed down between her legs. “And I’m never going to let you go.”


End file.
